Recorded forty years ago it may have been, but this disc preserves the sublime double act of Robert Helpmann and Frederick Ashton as the Ugly Sisters as well as showcasing many of the Royal Ballet's principal dancers of the period, among them Anthony Dowell and Lyn Seymour. The sight of the diminutive Wayne Sleep catching a diving Ashton and standing firm is itself worth the price of the disc. This performance is also notable for the influential presence of conductor John Lanchbery in the pit.In 1964 he was just starting to get a grip on the ROH Orchestra which had not up to that time been at its best in its performances of ballet music.Prokofiev's superb score deserves the best and mostly receives it here. Giving particular pleasure to this non ballet specialist writer are the sets and costumes with their wonderful colouration and two set piece features.Though dramatic enough the confusion in the ballroom when the clock strikes twelve has to yield in my judgement to the final seconds of Act 1 when Cinderella's carriage with our eponymous heroine on board clad in her ball gown appears from the mist at the back of the stage, seemingly only seconds after she has left the stage in her servant girl's garb. Prokofiev's music and Ashton's production combine to produce an unforgettable theatrical moment in what is perhaps THE classic fairy tale